Posts Tagged ‘girl autism’
Questions of Love: Raising an Autistic Daughter
Does she know she has been fighting her entire life? She fought to get nourishment and to breathe as a tiny baby. Fifteen years later she continues to fight. Fight for comfort, fight for words, and fight for peace within her own body and mind. Does she know she was born into a world that wasn’t built for her? Does she know I will move heaven and earth to find the right tools to give her so she can walk through this world as safely and peacefully as she can?…
Read MoreSmiles on the Other Side
There were tantrums, There were fears. There were meltdowns. There were tears. There were hard times We just had to get through, But on the other side—smiles Just look at you! The blessing of seeing Grandparents, Traveling and out of routine. Can be hard at times for you, But it’s so worth it, we believe. Each day is a gift, For that we are thankful, The hard and the good, The painful and the beautiful. There’s so much to be grateful for Each and every minute. Each day has plenty…
Read MoreA Mother-Daughter Journey through Autism, ADHD, and More
Two years ago, before we understood all that we do now, we were making our way through a very difficult time with our daughter. She was self-harming, and as it is for all families supporting children who have this disposition, we were frantic to help. She was just plain as day, telling me her problem and the solution as though to say, “I am thirsty and am getting a juice box about it.” She said, “Mom, this is where I put the nail so that my bad brains could come…
Read MoreThe Sun on Her Face and the Wind on Her Back
My daughter is 15 years old. She is autistic, has sensory processing disorder, and anxiety. She spends much of her day trying to calm both her mind and her body. There are very few things that are able to regulate both of those things simultaneously. A long walk in nature on a sunny, breezy day is just what she needs to achieve inner peace, even if only for a short time. With the sun on her face and the wind on her back, she walks down the street while humming…
Read MoreThe Colors of Hope: A Journey Through Autism and Discovery
What colours do you see? I cannot put into words what those five words meant to me, but I’m going to try. Hope Fierce Determination Unstoppable My daughter Kya is 13 and on the autism spectrum. She was diagnosed at two and a half. She was nonverbal. When my daughter was diagnosed, not knowing if I would ever hear her speak was gut, wrenching, and unless you’ve ever had a child like mine, you could never truly understand the sadness. In fact, it was her lack of language that let…
Read MoreI Wonder: Thoughts From a Mother With an Autistic Child
I wonder if they realize how hard it is to have a child who cannot have a conversation. I wonder if they realize it’s even harder to place that child on a bus to be with people you don’t really know. I wonder if they realize we are counting on them to follow a well-written education plan with not only goals for success but also strategies built in that will help my child feel calm and safe when they are anxious, upset, and out of sorts. I wonder if they…
Read MoreTwenty Minutes of Everything: A Simple Walk with My 18-Year-Old Son
Today I went on a walk with my son. That sounds like such an ordinary thing to do. However, to me it was really special. My son is 18 years old. He is busy with all the things that teenager’s do. Getting him to stop long enough to utter more than a few words to me is rare. My youngest child had just left on the bus for school. It was beautiful overcast morning temperature in the low 70s. I decided instead of my normal five mile walk that I…
Read MoreBefore Autism
My daughter, Olivia, is 14 years old. She is autistic, she has Sensory Processing Disorder, and anxiety. These photos were taken in 2009, during my daughter’s first year of life. Look at her amazing joint attention. She is always looking directly at me with a smile as bright as the sun. Such happy, beautiful pictures of our baby girl. This was before the regression happened. Before she became locked inside herself. Before the joy of hearing her first words, only to have them all disappear as quickly as they appeared.…
Read MoreSeasons of Autism: What Autism Means To Our Family
Autism has been an ever changing experience in our life. It has had different meanings to us as it’s evolved through the different seasons of our lives. My daughter was diagnosed with Autism in January of 2012. She was just shy of three years old at the time. My oldest daughter had just turned thirteen years old, and my son had just turned seven years old. During those days Autism was overwhelming and hard. Not much information was out there about it during that time, especially in relation to having…
Read MoreThe Battles and Blessings of Anxiety
The past couple of days have been tough ones. A triple dose of my daughter Casadee’s struggles with socializing and anxiety. We had planned a dinner date with her ‘boyfriend’ and his family so we could give Manny his birthday gift. Casadee had been looking forward to it and talking about it for days. We know plans with Casadee don’t always work out because of her social anxiety, so we are playing it cool and not saying much about it. Little reminders here and there. We’ve learned you can’t spring…
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